DEAD SPACE - First Contact Assault
by Lindqvist
Summary: Ikarus Ganova is a Corporal for the Military on Sprawl, assigned on a mission with his squad to investigate why the Comms went black on Cassini Towers, a public sector on Titan Station that merely consists of Unitologists. However, is that really the objective of this mission? When things go down, the squad has to find new ways to survive, while their strength are put to the test.
1. Chapter 1: First Contact Assault

**DEAD SPACE – FIRST CONTACT ASSAULT**

A fanfic by Stefan Lindqvist

_Titan Station, Government sector, approximately 3 years after the incident on USG ISHIMURA_

There were seven of us, excluding me and that was the last time I checked. However, I opened my eyes realizing that something had fallen down to hit my head, interrupting me from dozing off. Luckily, my equipment absorbed most of the impact as my entire squad was given the latest tech in order to deal with this "Event". If I recalled correctly, I remember that it had a rather simple name, "The Soldier Suit".

When I opened my eyes, I noticed that I was on the same dropship as my squad, that had been sent out on an objective that none of us really understood. It was something about evacuating the Citizens on Titan into the Government Section, but also through the Evac pods, but priority was getting the sick ones from Memorial Hospital through a dropship on top of the building. But, that went to shit. At least, from all the things that were going on around here. Suddenly, in the middle of all of this we were granted the permission to fire at will, now that Martial Law was in effect. However, I did forget to mention that in total, we were an entire platoon from Alpha to Delta squad, consisting of eight people in each group. We were divided into securing these sections, however me and my squad was declared being on the F.C.A – First Contact Assault status. That meant, we were the first and last ones ready to deploy and deal with any situations given by our superiors. Anyhow, it all seemed gibberish to me.

"_Ikarus, hey Ikarus! Did you get the orders?!_" A man in front of me yelled, I sat next to two other soldiers like me, while three were in front of my position. The man in front of me had slightly leaned forward in order to catch my attention, however he also seemed to wear the same suit such as me, except that his visor was orange rather than blue like mine and the others. Not to mention that he also had the Sergeant insignia on his shoulder which also meant that he was my superior. My face was hidden by my helmet and I merely gave a nod in response to the Sergeant. However, I could not help but to reply as I knew that this guy was a really tough individual, when it came to dealing with his men.

"_Yes, Sergeant!_" I slightly stuttered on the first word, but somehow I managed to keep my rhythm quick and strict, just like it is expected from a soldier.

"_I asked you, how you holdin' up? Do you think you can handle it?_" The man asked, his voice was slightly lowered and I could clearly tell the other soldiers were looking at me, awaiting my reply. But, the Sergeant shook his head before I could reply as he realized that I had not been paying any attention at all to the briefing on the ship. After all, it was rather important, but I had to admit. To my stupidity I was too tired to listen, which caused me to sadly doze off. However, in my mind I told myself to do better from now on as I could not afford going like this.

"_Listen, Corporal! Our objective is to raid the Cassini Towers and investigate why all comms went lost. We've been trying to reach them for a while, but our objective is to extract someone and we have to protect this individual at all costs. I can not say anything else._" The Sergeant replied and after his order, I looked to my side to see how my brothers in arms felt about this situation. They seemed a bit skeptical on this mission, though I can't blame them as I felt so as well. But, I wonder if the Sergeant felt the same way as well? I mean, everyone simply had this bitter; I was about to say _look, _but they all seemed to have this bitter yet weird aura amongst themselves. Like, they've given up and they simply only tried to survive. I was sure, one hundred percent positive that we were all equally curious what the Sergeant was hiding, but asking for more information would be like talking to a rock, when it came to talking to the Sergeant.

"_Alright, how's the connection? Is everyone able to link their R.I.G's with each other?_" The Sergeant asked as he stood up, trying to get a grip on a handle that allowed the Sergeant to stand, after all this was a bumpy ride.

"_Yeah, I'm linking my R.I.G with everyone now._" A man sitting next to the Sergeant replied, I believe it was Corporal Ray Cormick. Same rank as I, but he was the Support of this squad while I served as a Grenadier. However, as I myself was about to link my R.I.G with everyone else, I was interrupted by a notification in which requested the permission to have Ray's R.I.G linked with mine. This would allow me to see everyones health status on a small interface inside my helmet HUD. Of course, I reached out my hand and pressed the "accept" button. Then, I did so with Private Doyle's R.I.G and the others. Until it was my time to do so as well, which I did by opening up my interface and checking a preset checkbox that would request anyone in my squad to have my R.I.G displayed through their HUD. After that was done, the Sergeant sat down on his ordinary seat and silence took place for a while. The only thing that I could hear was the bumpy noises from the old Dropship. Until, the Sergeant had to leave his seat once again to talk to the pilot on the cockpit. I was the one sitting next to the Sergeant, that meant I was also the one closest to the cockpit. As the Sergeant got up, I could clearly tell that he wanted to go and check on the situation, probably the ETA regarding the ship. But, his missing presence took longer than expected. It also made me doubt and feel worried because when the Sergeant was absent for a long time, this being from all the five years that I've served with him...

It only meant one thing, that shit was bad.

I'd go and eavesdrop on his conversation with the pilot, but that would mean that I would have to get up. Which also prevented me from doing so, I did not want to get a bad name on my record, nor have any of my squad mates snitch on me. So, I sat down and just waited like anyone waiting on their train, or bus. There was nothing to do really, until I heard distant mumblings at the corner of the ship, three seats away from the Sergeant's seat. I couldn't make it out, but it was something about a thing called "The Marker" and on how convergence was at hand. I didn't really pay any much attention, so I went back to trying to listen on the pilot and the Sergeant. But, I could make out in the background that one of my squad mates tried to calm down the mumbling man that seemed to make the others of my squad more and more upset. However, now that the mumbling man had decided to stand up, so did the two of the others sitting next to me – now trying to tell the mumbling soldier to sit down. Alright, by that time my attention span focused on something else. Now, I knew something was going on so I turned to my right to see what the fuss was all about.

What it seemed to be going on, was the fact that the mumbling soldier seemed to be rather unstable. The man was shaking, stuttering in each of his sentences and spouting up things that did not make sense. Of course, I was put to my surprise when I thought that this soldier was one of the most stable people, after all; I had served with him for quite a while and he had a great record. His name was Corporal Johnsson Frost, a Grenadier same as me.

"_What's going on?_" I asked Private Doyle, the man sitting next to me had previously been focused on the crazy soldier until he turned his attention to me, in attempt to reply to my question.

"_This guy keeps rambling about the marker and how convergence is at hand, he's been doing so for the past few hours, but he's been getting more and more aggressive as time passed. His friend here, tried to calm him down but things does not seem to go so well now._" Doyle replied and I merely gave a nod, now glancing at the crazy man that had now placed a hand on his friend next to him, trying to convince him to accept "their fate". I did not really know what was going on, but the Sergeant certainly did as the moment he came back from the cockpit. He shouted at everyone to sit down, until I turned to explain the situation. At that moment, he shouted towards the crazy guy after giving me a stern look.

"_Corporal Johnsson Frost! You will sit down and be quiet or I will have you taken to Military Court and dishonorably discharge you!"_

However, the Grenadier did not reply. He simply stood still as the others grew more and more paranoid and felt the unnerving presence from the Unitologist. All of us had a deep fear inside for what could go wrong. After all, unitologists were people not so easily accepted into the Military. After the Unitologist stood still for a brief moment, he silently began chuckling to himself, as the laughter gradually became louder and louder. It was clear that the man had lost it, his voice was distorted by his helmet and suddenly. He did something in which surprised everyone, he took out a Hand Grenade and yelled out.

"_If none of you will accept your destiny, then I will force it upon you!_" Yet so, the man pulled the pin quickly and at that moment, none of us really knew what to do. It happened quick enough that we did not have a chance to look for cover, but instead...

We were greeted by a tremendous force, that blew me and the Sergeant next to me away into the cockpit. All of what remained, was that the Drop Ship split in half and how everyone else tried to struggle on holding on to anything that could keep them inside of the ship. I saw Private Doyle clinging on to the damaged ceiling, luckily enough the damaged cords on the ship allowed Doyle to cling on as the ship was split in half; dividing our group in two's. As I felt the ship crashing into one of the buildings on Titan, where I had no idea where...

I simply hoped that we'd make it out alive, but everything went black after a tremendous force that seemed to be another explosion that made my ears ring intensely. 

_**Chapter One, finished**_


	2. Chapter 2: Operation: ENDGAME

**Here's chapter two, for you guys! I'd like to thank my first follower and reviewer for reading this fic, as I honestly did not expect anyone to read it. But, since some actually do; I'm going to continue this fic!**

**Once more, thanks again for reading and go ahead to read and review if you'd like! :^)**

**I will be having this fic updated whenever I can, but I'll set the standard update to one part per week! So, expect me! Thus, the more reviewers and followers, the more frequent this fic will be updated.**

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_**Chapter two, Operation: Endgame**_

_One month before Deployment, somewhere in the Government Sector, High Command.._

"_Ikarus Ganova, background: Colonist." _A female voice stated, she was carrying a rather solemn expression as if she's never seen what it is like having fun; even though the woman appeared to be unblemished, she looked quite exhausted. It was clear that the two individuals was somewhere on top of a tower, or a building that could be defined as the 21th century skyscrapers, in this case.

Space Scrapers.

The room she was standing in, alongside with what seemed to be a man in power that faced his back towards the woman; concealing his face. Even though the man remained obscure, it was clear by his posture overlooking the view on Titan Station that he was arrogant. A trait, some may find less appealing.

"_Parents?" _This voice however, seemed very masculine. But, in comparison to the female he did not seem to be the one in charge of performing the background check, but rather the one investigating the unit.

"_His father was a mechanic on a ship that he used to travel with, selling various merchandise around colonies. However, he is suffering life-time prison for a major fraud. Though, his mother seems to be alive and well on Gallon-Six; a mining base. However, Ganova does not seem to be in contact with her. After all, I don't judge that guy. After having to spend his childhood in the lowest slums and work himself up in order to get a chance to get educated... __Heck, even I wouldn't talk to a mother that'd abandon me."_

"_Alright, so – why him for this Operation?" _

"_Well, sir. For starters, -"_

"_Skip the starters, just get to the point, advisor."_

"_The man is an odd case, we've been discussing at High Command whether to keep him in the Military or kick him out as his record is questionable. He seems to act on his own accord whenever he is greeted with orders that do not live with his point of view. It doesn't really make him a Soldier, but when given orders to rescue or protect something that is for the greater good, you would not want any other man to deal with that task. Ikarus is the man for that job."_

"_You still did not give me a good reason to keep him in Delta Squad."_

"_Apologizes, Ikarus was born in chaos and had to deal with a lot of stressful situations that most have not lived through. Most in the Military are either descendants of Officers or got in through privileges, or contacts. However, Ikarus is that small minority that had to work his way up starting from the bottom. If there's anyone for this job... __It's him, he's seen it all. You know what I mean? Colonel."_

"_I do know what you mean, have him sent to Delta Squad immediately. I will give the Sergeant instructions one month prior before deployment; but have the Soldiers train for Urban Warfare for one month straight to get everything through. We can't risk this to go under now, not after we've come so far..."_

"_Alright, sir. Good day." _And so the woman walked away from the Colonel's office, the doors opened up to allow the blonde young advisor to pass through, though as quickly as the door opened, so did they close; the instant the woman had past by. Meanwhile, the obscure man simply pulled out another cigarette and lit it up, taking a puff as nonchalantly as possible...

_Present, 09:43PM, six minutes after the Crash_

The soldier coughed, as he was trying to grasp for air. However, he could not move as he felt heavy things upon him; nor he could not make out what as everything was black and the blue visor upon his helmet did not allow him to clearly see where he was. But, the smell of it made it obvious that he was stuck underneath rubble. It was a particular sense of smell that the rubble carried, a scent he felt very used to; one that he recognized back on his home planet, in the slums. Not that it was time to be overwhelmed with the feeling of nostalgia, as the first thing he now tried to do was to yell out for help; not that he expected anyone would hear him. But, that was where he was wrong because at the far distance he heard a distorted voice that the rubble tried to suppress; though without luck. Because as the voice grew closer, the more clear it became.

_"Ikarus! God fucking dammit, Ikarus! Are you alive?!"_ It was the Sergeant searching for nearby survivors, or casualties...

The Sergeant was carrying private Doyle over his shoulder as Doyle seemed to have a been caught in collateral damage during the crash. Upon further inspections, a rather large pole was sticking out through his right leg. A matter that was rather urgent, though something that also had to be dealt with soon enough.

_"I know you're alive you peice of shit! Your rig is blue!"_ The Sergeant yelled out once more, as private Doyle was trying to keep up his pace.

_"I'm over here!"_ Ikarus tried to yell, hoping the Sergeant could hear him; and so he did. The Sergeant looked around to see where the voice was coming from, before the man asked Ikarus to yell again to allow the Sergeant to follow the voice.

After Ikarus yelled, the Sergeant knew exactly where to go. Meanwhile, Ikarus was drowning in the rubble. His coughs became louder and his exhales became deeper. It was a very uncomfortable sensation, but the Soldier knew the Sergeant would come for him as the man could hear and feel that the Sergeant was standing on top of him, taking off the rubble. As his exhales became deeper, the soldier began to doubt the fact of the Sergeant making it in time, but as the Soldier felt that his vision began to fade...

The Soldier was pulled out and in that instant, Ikarus reached out for air; just like in those moments when you're about to drown and in that final second, you manage just in time to fetch in air.

Ikarus lied on the ground with his arms resting on his chest, breathing as much as possible as if the air was food served on a silver plate.

_"God fucking dammit, I thought I was gonna die."_ Ikarus muttered as he took deep breaths after every word.

The Sergeant did not respond and neither did Doyle. They just stood there and watched Ikarus collect himself and that was when they fell silent. However, that silence was immediately interrupted as Ikarus began chuckling to himself. That chuckle turned into a laughter and you know what they say about laughters...

They have a way of affecting others, because just as Ikarus laughed; so did the Sergeant and finally the Private.

_"This is one helluva trip!"_ The Sergeant replied as he was sitting on a pile of rubble, while the private was lying down resting near Sergeant Blake.

_No shit, this just like old times, Blake. Remember back on our first patrol?_ Ikarus asked, as if he was hinting on something only Blake and the Corporal knew about, like an internal joke. Though, reminding Blake was the only thing that it took before Blake began laughing even more. In which of course, affected Ikarus as well. But, the rookie merely stood at both of them with a huge question mark above his head; unsure of what was so funny.

_"What do you guys mean? What patrol?"_ Doyle asked, wanting to participate in the laugh. However, the two unconsciously ignored the Private as Blake went further in with the joke.

_"I had to drag Ray out of that mulch! But it was so damn hilarious to see him struggle out of that pile of shit!"_ Blake replied, while laughing hysterically.

_"Well, the best part was when Frost joined in!"_ Ikarus added, but then realized it was something he should not have done; as it brought back old memories.

_"Yeah, Frost... That son of a bitch."_ Blake finished, the fun mood was not so fun and games anymore; as bringing up the name of Frost literally killed it, though also caused everyone to remain silent and slightly lower their head in disgust. How could Johnsson Frost turn against us in such an instant? What happened to him?

We should get going. Private Doyle stepped in, everyone raised their heads towards Doyle, but this also reminded Ikarus of something. Where were they, exactly?

Ikarus stood up and looked around the area to observe his surroundings, despite all the rubble and minor fire here and there...

What they could make out was that they were somewhere that resembled a warehouse, of some sort. Another thing to take note of, was that the scenery seemed to have radically changed. Usually this place used to be an area where all goods came and went through; but all of what this place consisted of was the cracking sound of this place falling apart. The rubble and the blood upon the floor and walls every here and there. After looking around for a while, he eventually noticed one part of the drop ship hanging on the ceiling with electrified cords around it; probably being the only thing keeping it from crashing down.

_"Damn, I can't believe we survived that."_ Ikarus sighed as he pointed with his finger towards the drop ship while facing the two Soldiers.

_"Yeah, I can't believe __you__ survived that, Ikarus. I saw you crashing through the window at top speed. You should've been in broken ribs by now, man."_ Doyle replied almost as if he was amazed with what Ikarus just pulled off, until he then turned silent.

_Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Take this._ The Sergeant joined in, as he unholstered a standard issue military handgun with 9mm plasma bullets. He then attempted to toss it over to Ikarus.

_"You lost your Pulse Rifle along the way, so I figured you might need this in the meantime."_ The Sergeant finished as Ikarus caught the weapon, reloading the gun and switching off the safety.

_"Thanks, but I also guess I was lucky_." Ikarus replied with a tone that did not seem to mean much, it was quite casual to be precise. But, the other two just frowned behind their masks as if they were surprised that Ikarus couldn't care less.

After the Sergeant was trying to get Doyle back on his feet, a loud growl was heard catching the attention of the three survivors. The noise was loud and did not sound like good luck, but rather something that seemed very, very pissed off. Yet, the worse thing was...

That noise was headed towards them.

**Chapter two, to be continued...**

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**Nobody likes cliff hangers, but I had to do a small one here as Chapter Two is getting really long. So, I'm thinking of dividing it in three, I'm working on the second part of Chapter Two right now and I'll hopefully have it up soon. This part is about 3.5 pages long on my wordpress document with the font of twelve. I hope you liked it! Or at least, this part! As said, this is only a build up to part two and three!**


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